Words He Said
by MissJiminyCricket
Summary: Callie visited LaPush for one reason and one reason only. Her little sister, Mindy, needed pictures for her school artwork portfolio. She never expected to meet him. Never expected to be yanked into a world she thought only existed in story books.
1. Chapter 1

I'm not one to get into the latest trends. I didn't go to Walgreen's and buy a million SillyBandz because they were in style. I don't shop at Hot Topic _or_ Hollister. I don't even wear name brands. If you want to find me, look in the nearest Goodwill or Salvation Army, or that one soup kitchen downtown that everyone's afraid of, because most likely, that's where I'll be. If not, call my cell phone, which looks about 30 years old, just in case you were wondering. I probably won't answer, because when I'm not shopping at thrift stores or helping the homeless, I'm at home sleeping or doing homework. That's just the way I live my life. Or, at least, how I used to live it. I thought it was pretty good life too. Full and happy, most of the time.

My little sister, on the other hand, thought I was insane. Bonkers. Completely mental. But she was just 14, and didn't know what I knew. She hadn't seen what I'd seen. But I didn't blame her for that. By the time she was born we had already moved out of the projects. Yeah, that's right, I used to live in the projects. Run, hide, and cower in fear from the poverty that is everywhere! Not. It's not like the projects are some place for alien mutants. It's not a place you go because you've been a bad person. It was where you went when you needed help. When you had nothing left. For us, it was a last ditch effort to keep the family together, and that ultimately failed when my Dad took off in 1994. I was still a baby, but that didn't stop him from taking everything we had. I've never met him really, and I have no memories of his face. My mom burned all his pictures.

A year later my mom met Kyle. He's a great guy, and he makes her happy, so he is okay in my book. He got us out of the projects, and moved us into a nice, quiet suburb, where about a year later, Mindy was born. She was the spitting image of my mother: dark hair, green eyes, and Spanish complexion. They were the prettiest people I knew. I, unfortunately, took more after my dad, or so my mom said; dark hair, but dark eyes, and light skin - the kind of skin that burns way too easily. We all settled in together just fine, and it was like my dad had never even existed. We were as complete as any family, and I loved them to death.

Which is why when Mindy's 15 birthday was just around the corner, I was planning to go all out. Why? Well, for one I wanted to show her how much I cared about her. Second, we had just completed a whole month of bicker-free conversation, and, best of all, I had just been moved up from minimum wage at the local department store I worked at. I was unstoppable.

"So, Callie, what do you think I should get Mindy this year?" My mom asked from beside me in the car. She had taken to letting me drive her to the café after a long day of work, which, of course, I didn't complain about. I loved driving. I rolled my eyes playfully, smiling over at her.

"Money. What else?" I asked. Sometimes I was sure my mom forgot how old Mindy was getting. And I was right there with her. It seemed only a few years ago we were celebrating her fifth birthday with a Wizard of OZ cake and a day at Chucky Cheese. Those were the days.

"You're probably right." She nodded, reaching over to adjust the heat. In California, the temperature was always comfortable, but my mother seemed to be constantly freezing.

"Mom, it's like, 70 degrees outside, turn your heat down. "I laughed, reaching my own hand over and flicking off the vents. I was burning up! I pulled my shirt away from my body, making a face at the black asphalt in front of me when I felt it stick to my skin with sweat. So gross.

"Well what are you going to get her? I could just cover your gift if you want me too, it's no problem." She said. That's what I loved about my mom the most. She was always willing to help others no matter what. If a neighbor called a midnight and asked if she could baby-sit for a couple hours, she would be out of bed and dressed in two minutes flat. If there was a party going on, my mom always got there early to help set up, and was the last out as she finished cleaning. I liked to think I took after her in that respect.

"I've actually been meaning to talk to you about that." I said, shifting my body slightly so it was angled more towards her, but my foot was still firmly placed on the gas pedal.

"What is it sweetie?" She asked, turning her own body to look at me.

"I was thinking…well, it's kind of sudden I know, but I wanted to take her on a road-trip." I said, waiting for her inevitable reply.

"Oh Callie I don't know…you just got your license-"

"A year ago." I finished. "I know. But you know how much she's wanted to go to Forks to visit Uncle Charlie and Bella, and I know that she needs some pictures of the woods. There aren't many woods here, unless you count the trails and those aren't the kind of woods she needs. Having those pictures in her portfolio could really help her get into California Arts…" I trailed off, trying to win her over. Everyone in the family knew Mindy had an eye for photography, and she'd been practically dying to get some pictures of the rainy, dense woods that were all over Forks.

"Well honey I know but…she's so young. You're both girls and I know that there are people out there who would take advantage of you two in a second." She said. I saw her open her mouth to continue but hurried on. I knew that would be another one of her reasons.

"Mom that was an excuse you used when I was 12. It doesn't exactly work anymore. I know how to shoot a gun, Kyle has armed me with a tazer and more pepper spray than I can handle and I have my own pistol that I keep in the glove-compartment." I said, motioning to the small door in front of her knees.

"You what?" My mom shouted, already fumbling to open it.

"It's locked, so that no one can get to it but me. Kyle signed for the gun permit. I told you mom, I'm safe. Mindy will be safe. Just trust me." I whispered, knowing that was her Achilles heel. I always pushed the trust issue with her, and it nearly always worked considering I had never done anything in my whole life to betray her trust.

"I don't know…" She sighed again, and I decided it was now or never to throw in my last bit of persuasive information. Too bad it might get my step-dad in a little trouble.

"Kyle – er, Dad already said yes." I said calmly, watching as her mouth widened in shock and she looked over at me.

"He did what?" She asked, enunciating each word. I internally cringed for the tongue-lashing I knew he would be receiving when we got home.

"He said yes if you agreed." I quickly added, as she fell back in her seat and ran a hand through her hair. The car filled with silence, and I felt my heart steadily sink. I had the bad feeling in my stomach that she wanted to say no, just to spite him. _Please just say yes_. I thought, resisting the urge to say it out loud. The one thing about my mom was, if you begged, she would most definitely not give you what you wanted. That tactic never, _ever_ worked.

"Okay." She finally said, letting out a long breath and looking at me. I stiffened in my seat and looked over at her, my face breaking out into a wide smile. Had she really, truly just agreed? No. Freaking. Way.

"Seriously?" I practically shouted, my head snapping back to the road. I was a very safe driver, and I couldn't have my mom thinking any differently if I was taking my 14-year-old sister on a road trip across two states.

"Yes, seriously, but there are some conditions." She said, raising her finger at me. I internally groaned. I hated conditions. "You are going to stay with Uncle Charlie, you will be with Mindy at _all_ times, you will call in once a day – twice when you're driving – and-"

"Mom I already knew all that." I said, smiling to myself. I wasn't five. I knew what would be expected of me if she was going to let me do this.

"I wasn't finished." She warned, smiling to herself. Great. What was next? Something terrible? Something cruel? Something that would completely ruin the entire trip and turn Mindy's birthday present into a disaster so that she would hate me forever and I would lose my only sister and my life would go down the drain and – "No boys." My mom said. I stared out the windshield for a second.

Oh. That wasn't so bad. I shrugged at her and nodded my head in agreement. What did she think? I was taking my little sister to Forks so she could get laid? Please. She was 14. I was 17. That was pretty much disgusting in my book.

For the rest of the drive we discussed driving arrangements, gas money, and when exactly we would be leaving. It was all settled by the time we got to the café, and I was practically jumping up and down in my seat. I was so excited!

We walked in, the cool air wafting over us and making my mom shiver beside me. I glanced back and saw her pull her jacket closer to her. I resisted the urge to make fun of her, and instead turned back to the register.

I ordered us the usual, avoiding eye contact with the creepy middle-aged man that seemed to have some fascination with my chest, and we sat down at the table furthest from anyone else. This was mommy and Callie time.

"So, how's school?" She asked, sipping her coffee and flinching away from the burn.

"Boring." I answered, hardly even needing to think about it. That was my answer every time she asked the question because, in all honesty, school wasn't exactly riveting.

"Thomas?" She asked, raising her eyebrows at me. I rolled my own eyes and flipped a piece of my hair behind my shoulder.

"I broke up with him. He was a major douche bag." I said, whispering the last part to myself, but apparently she heard anyways.

"Callie!" she shouted, reaching over to slap my hand, I just kept my eyes on my cup and giggled, knowing she really wasn't that mad. "You know you don't use that type of language around me." She scolded, and when I looked up and met her eyes I saw the spark of amusement behind them that I knew would be there. She was one Hell of a mom.

"You know I can't lie, and that's what he was." I shrugged, stirring my coffee with the little red straw I'd grabbed from the counter. She grunted in approval and moved on to the next question.

"How's the soup kitchen been lately?"

"Very busy." I said sadly, gazing down into the swirl of brown liquid and white foam that rested on the top. It seemed to me that more and more people were shuffling into the small building everyday, their clothes thin and worn, but not nearly as old and tired looking as their faces.

"That's unfortunate." My mom whispered, knowing as well as I did that at some point that had been us. We may not have been homeless, but we sure looked it, and my mom wouldn't pass up an opportunity for free food. I shivered at the thought and shook away the images of my mother, frail and hopeless, shuffling through the line, her tray held out for the small portion of food we gave.

We sat at the table for a while, before we knew we had to get home to start dinner. Mindy would be getting home from lacrosse practice soon, and Kyle would be back from the office.

"Come on sweetie." My mom said, getting up and patting my hand. "Let's go home."


	2. Chapter 2

When I told Mindy the news I was positive her face was going to explode. Her jaw dropped open, the book she was reading fell to the floor, and her hands flew up to grab her cheeks. I had glanced at my mom, who was standing behind me and watched as she dissolved into laughter when Mindy began screaming her head off.

"No way! No freaking way!" She yelled running and gathering me into a hug. She knocked into my stomach so hard the air flew out of my lungs and I started coughing as she continued to rant about how "freaking amazing" I was. All in all, it was quite flattering to hear that I was the best big sister in the whole entire world. That night she had packed her bags for the trip even though it would be two weeks before we left. She didn't care. She didn't sleep that night either. She sat in my room the whole time, fiddling with her camera and talking to me about how many great pictures she was going to get in the woods. I thought it was pretty comical that she found the no boys rule more troublesome than I did.

"I mean come on, it's not like there are any cute boys here! That's totally unfair!" But in the end she had decided to go along with it, considering she was more camera crazy than boy crazy. For that I was thankful.

Days passed, and every time she would pass me going up the stairs or walking through the kitchen, she would remind me of how many days it was until we left. She was even marking it off on the calandar that was hanging on the fridge. I hadn't thought she would be _that_ excited about a trip to small, lonely Forks, Washington.

When her birthday rolled around, I was sure she was more keyed up about the trip than the $100 my parents gave her. She acted thrilled though, and hugged them tightly around their necks, planting kisses on their cheeks.

But at the end of the day, she was once again unable to sleep because she knew we were leaving the next day. She had demanded we leave early in the morning, so that we could get a head start on the day. So early, in fact, that you could barely even consider it to be morning, and I was barely hauling myself out of bed when she burst into the room, ready to go.

"Come on Callie, let's _go_." She said, yanking at my arm and pushing me into the bathroom to get ready.

"Mindy seriously, why do we have to leave at 3 in the morning? It's not like the town of Forks disappears at noon or something." I grumbled, shutting the door in her face. To be frank, I was not a morning person in the least. In fact, I hated mornings with a deep and fiery passion, and everyone was usually very careful to not wake me up before 7. 8, I could deal with. But anything before the Sun was up just made me angry.

I skipped a shower, way to tired to take my clothes off, and just pulled a pair of sweats on over my pajama shorts, threw my dark hair up in a messy bun, and washed my face. All I could think about was going back to sleep, and my mother must have predicted that because when I came down the stairs she was waiting in the kitchen with a cup of coffee. Truth be told, I hated coffee, but I was tired and the warm liquid heated my chest up and opened my eyes enough for her to allow us on the road.

We triple checked our bags and cell-phones, went over the requirements for what felt like the thousandth time, and made our way out the door. However, before we were allowed to even touch the door-handle my mom had to take a million pictures of us looking dead, and cover our faces in kisses. I felt like it was my first day of school instead of a road trip with my sister. I didn't see the big deal. Then she had to call Kyle out to wish us good-bye. He didn't look too happy about being dragged out of bed so early either. I sympathized for him, but envied him as well, because _he_ got to go right back to bed.

"Callie I swear if you come back here pregnant-"

"Mom!" I shouted, giving her the, _are you freaking joking me? _look, and hopped into the car. Even though we would only be gone for a total of two weeks, she was still crying as we pulled out of the driveway. Silly mothers, getting so emotional at the darnedest things.

When we first entered the car, Mindy had turned on the radio so loud I had to cover my ears. Rule number one in my car: We don't play music until at least 10. I had switched it off, given her a hard look, and told her to go back to sleep. She hadn't. Instead she had talked my ear off for about two hours until she finally passed out. I was never so grateful for her to shut-up in my life.

Yes, I loved her. And yes, I was the one who had come up with the idea of the road-trip, but that didn't mean she had to talk about how awesome I was 24/7. I just wanted some peace and quiet for a little bit.

I watched the dry, cracking land in California slowly turn to lush, green forests with water seeming to constantly hang in the air, waiting for more vapor to join it so that full sized rain drops could finally fall. Mindy slept for much longer than I had expected, giving me time to fully wake up.

As I drove I wondered if Uncle Charlie would still recognize us. I had grown a good two inches and I had had my hair died bright blue the last time he saw us. I unconsciously reached back to smooth down the long, curly brown locks I had been ecstatic to grow out after…

"Callie?" Mindy asked from her place beside me, squirming in her seat and opening her eyes groggily. "I have to go to the bathroom." She whined, and I smiled to myself. She had the bladder of a squirrel.

"We'll pull off at the next exit. We can pick up some food too. I'm starving." I said, looking over and beaming when her face seemed to light up. We hardly ever got fast food anymore, and soda was a rarity in the house. Kyle was a big time doctor, and knew the dangers of the high fructose corn syrup they pumped into each can. But we were kids, and it tasted good. So after she rushed into the dirty bathroom at the rest stop and came scurrying out with a disgusted look on her face we drove to the parking lot of a Chick-Fil-A. Not the best choice for a vegetarian like myself, but their side salad turned out to be quite filling.

We ate in silence, both of us staring out the window at the giant, rumbling storm clouds that were moving in our direction. Their purple color looking more and more threatening as they grew nearer, and the distant sound of thunder magically making our forks move faster into our mouths. When we exited the restaurant the temperature felt like it had dropped a good ten degrees and we hurried to get in the car and turn on the heat.

We drove and drove along the highway but the storm eventually caught up to us and I flicked on the windshield wipers as rain pounded against the glass, making it extremely difficult to see.

"Callie I'm scared." Mindy said from the passenger seat, her legs curled up to her chest and her arms locked tightly around them. I on the other hand was leaning forward in my seat, squinting through the glass to try and see the road. We seemed to be the only ones who had been stupid enough to try and keep traveling in this weather.

"I know, but we're almost there." I lied quickly. In truth, we had about another four hours to drive before we were almost there.

"Well how much farther." She asked, sensing my fib.

"I don't know Mindy just…go back to sleep. I'll wake you when we get there." I said, shooing away her questions as I turned the windshield wipers on as high as they would go. The black pieces of plastic were flying across the glass, wiping away the water in front of me. Except for that little triangle in the bottom middle, a little closer to the passenger side. That spot of un-wiped glass had never failed to bother me, and now it just drove my frustration to a whole new level. Why didn't they make the wipers to clean that little area too?

"Callie I'm like, not even tired." Mindy said, leaning her head back against the seat and groaning.

"Oh my gosh, Mindy, it's not exactly easy to drive through this rain. Please be quiet for like, five minutes." I snapped, my teenage girl annoyance showing. I rarely snapped at Mindy, but when I did she knew to take me seriously, and I heard her sigh dramatically. However, she was quiet until she fell back asleep, the soft snoring telling me that I would be guaranteed full driving focus for at least an hour.

My fingers clutched the steering wheel tightly, my knuckles turning white as the rain increased. I couldn't drive in this. Hell, I couldn't see in this. I turned my bright's on and tried to maneuver my way to the shoulder as best as I could, deciding I would just have to wait it out and hope that it cleared up soon.

I leaned back against the seat, closing my eyes and sighing myself, wondering why on Earth I hadn't checked the weather forecast before leaving the house this morning. In fact, I wondered why my worrying mother hadn't checked the weather herself to see that we would have clear sailing all the way to Forks. Right at that second, my cell phone let of a shrill ring from the cup holder beside me, startling me from my calm.

I jumped in my seat and looked around, wondering for a second where the sound was coming from before my hand dove into the cup holder and yanked out the phone. I flipped it open, saw "Receiving call from: Madre" flash on the screen and hit the little green button.

"Mom?" I asked, the phone resting against my ear and cheek.

"Callie? Oh thank goodness you're okay, I just checked the weather for Washington and it said that there's a huge storm going on there!" She said, her voice leaking relief.

"We're fine mom. But um, yeah we're pretty much stuck in the worst of it I think. We're pulled over and I'm just going to wait it out I guess. I can't drive in this." I said, looking over at Mindy who was, to my amazement, still sleeping.

"Well that's good. I don't want you driving on those dangerous roads. Oh I can't believe I forgot to check the weather forecast before you left." She fretted. _Me either mom._

"Well, we're okay. No need to worry." I assured her, smiling a little to myself. I wondered what she would have said if I had started eating her out about not being responsible enough. She probably would have cried, but of course, I would never yell at her for something as silly as not knowing a storm was on it's way. I probably would have left anyways and said it wouldn't be that bad.

"Well, okay, just call me when you get to Uncle Charlie's. Hugs and kisses for you and Mindy." She said.

"Hugs and kisses. I love you." I laughed.

"Love you too sweetie. Bye-bye now."

"Bye." I responded before flipping the phone closed and setting it in the cup holder beside me. I leaned back against the seat again, listening to the raindrops pound against the metal of the top of our car. The sky outside was dark, and I wasn't sure whether it was because of the storm, or if it was getting late. I thought back to all the previous times I had gotten stuck in the rain. There weren't many. The only one I could remember very well was when we had been on our way to the doctor. I had had an infection in my blood and needed to be taken to the hospital, but had refused to be transported in an ambulance. Kyle had driven me instead, and we had had to pull over at a gas station to wait the rain out while I had puked into a bucket in the backseat. Kyle had told me that everything was going to be okay. He told me that he was going to protect me. Even though I wasn't sure how he could protect me from too many white blood cells. That had been only five years ago, and the first time I'd ever _really_ bonded with him.

When I once again opened my eyes the rain wasn't as bad, and I could see clearly out the front window, so I gunned up the truck, and pulled back onto the road, driving for Forks. I glanced at the clock and groaned. Only another three hours of driving left.

When we rolled into the small, rainy town of Forks Mindy was once again wide awake and bouncing up in down in her seat, while I on the other hand, was ready to keel over and die from lack of sleep. I didn't even have the energy to tell her to calm down as we pulled into the driveway of a two-story wooden house with a police cruiser parked up front.

As I turned the car off a tall man with a full mustache emerged from the house, a smile on his lips. Uncle Charlie.

Mindy hopped out of the car and ran as fast as she could into his arms, her small duffle bag slung over he shoulder. In so many ways, she was still just a kid. I, on the other hand, waited until I had the suitcase out of the back to walk over and hug him in a much more calm way.

"Hey Uncle Charlie." I said, pulled back and patting him on the shoulder. "You're looking good. Did you get a face-lift?" I joked, smiling a little when he laughed.

"Not yet. Look how much you've grown Callie. And that hair! What are your parents feeding you? Hair growth hormones or something?" He asked, joking back and I smiled, glad he noticed how long it had gotten.

"Not as far as I know."

"How's your dad, by the way?" He asked, picking up my suitcase from where it rested on the ground beside me, and beginning to walk up the porch stairs. He always took care to include me one of Kyle's kids, even when we both knew I came from a drunken gambler who left my mom without a penny to her name. Uncle Charlie was one of the many people that had finally gotten me to start calling Kyle dad. True, he was the only father I had ever known, but for a while, I had refused to call him that. I thought it would be like betraying who I really was. Of course, once I learned more about what my biological father was like, I had decided that Kyle deserved that honor of being called dad more than anyone else.

"He's good. He's got lots of patients but, with his own practice now and everything, he has a lot more free time."

"How's your mom?" He asked, opening the door for me. The rain was still falling, but lightly, and I got the feeling that it was normal weather around here.

"She's good. She still worries, and she still refuses to quit her job, but she's good." I laughed. There was an on-going battle between my parents about whether or not my mom should quit working at the paper company she was currently employed at. I think Kyle wanted her to relax for a change, he was still trying to show her that he could provide for her and she didn't have to worry about anything anymore. I guess he didn't get the memo that he had convinced her about 13 years ago.

Uncle Charlie led me up a flight of stairs to a purple room with a full sized bed. There was a window on the far wall that had a tree right next to it, and curtains that gave the room an old, used, but comfortable feel.

"This is Bella's old room. You'll be staying here while you're staying. Mindy took the guest bedroom right beside yours. I think she's already in there." He said, throwing a finger over his shoulder to the hallway.

"What about Bella? Where's she going to sleep?" I asked, scrunching my eyebrows together.

"She um…she's married and out of the house now. Up in Alaska actually with her husband Edward. And their little girl." He said, smiling a tight-lipped smile. I got the idea that he wasn't too happy about the arrangement. I, on the other hand, was just shocked.

"Oh um…wow." I said, turning to the bed to hide my face. I'm sure my eyes were wide and alarmed. Bella? The Bella that hadn't had a boyfriend and had been a straight A honors student? She had not gone to college to move away with her _husband_ and their _daughter_? I could hardly force myself to believe it. She was only two years older than me. I couldn't picture myself in that position 2 years from now. Maybe it was because I hadn't found the right guy. But still. A _daughter_?

"I'll um, let you get unpacked then and then…do whatever it is that you kids do." He said, sounding a little uncomfortable. He walked out of the room and shut the door, leaving me there with my jumbled thoughts. I still couldn't see it in my mind: Bella living in Alaska with a husband and a daughter. She had hated the cold. I sat down on the bed and looked around, picturing her walking around, setting things up, doing homework at the desk in the far corner.

I shivered. It was just too weird to think about. I wondered why dad hadn't known already as I unpacked my bag and started putting the things in drawers. I didn't have much at all, considering we wouldn't be here for that long, but I still liked to get settled.

"Callie?" Mindy asked, opening the door a crack and peeking her head in. "When are we going to go to the woods?" She asked. I could hardly believe she was even asking me that. We had been traveling all day and she wanted me to trek through the woods in the cold rain with her?

"Um. Not today. I have some things I have to do." I said, and she sighed and backed out of the room, closing the door behind her. We had two weeks to get everything done, what I needed now was some sleep.

I kicked my suitcase under the bed and fell down on the mattress. I'm pretty sure I was asleep before my head even hit the pillow.


End file.
